What are your favourite non twintip skis?

skiP.E.I.

skiP.E.I.

Active member
I'm in the market for a pair of carving skis. Any suggestions for on piste skis and why you like them? I've been looking at the Nordica Enforcer 88 and K2 Ikonic. I want something that's good at high speed and a variety of turn shapes. I'll be using them for instructing too.

**This thread was edited on Jul 2nd 2020 at 1:15:34pm
 
The Enforcers are great, but maybe check out the Liberty Evolv series. Really like the Evolv 100 along with the Enforcer 100. I think next season the Evolv comes in a 84 and 90mm version.
 
I have or have had all the enforcers, including the 88(still own), and while they are quite nice and fun, they are not high speed skis, they will flex out on me, you cannot drive the shovels, and even with a more centerd stance they will just fold when you try to do max G carves at high speed. (fun skis none the less)

Checkout the Deacon 84, or mantra 102 if you really wanna go fast (and big) the speed limit, and high speed carve limit is way way way higher than any enforcer. Also the 3d radus actually allows for a surprisingly variety of turn radius, for the mantra I prefer +1 or +2cm. Think of them as the naughty cousin of the racetiger series. The mantra feels like a fun version of a FIS GS. I've hit 60+ on the deacon and 60++ on mantra 102. 215-225lbs helps.

I just got both the 2020 sakana and pescado, and are waiting for the blade, all will be fun short radius skis, but they will no doubt have a lower speed limit than even the enforcer series.

**This post was edited on Jul 2nd 2020 at 6:11:01pm
 
Slalom race skis easily. Trails are tight here so the ability to slalom gapers is great. Also when everything freezes over having absolute confidence in edge grip is amazing. Never am I like, I probably can't make that turn.
 
I recommend going with the K2 Disruptions if you're thinking about the Ikonics. A few models were released this past winter but the full range comes out very soon. Lots of different dimensions depending on what you're looking for in a piste ski.
 
I know a lot of people are stoked on the blade but I demoed them last season and didn't really like them, like yeah you can rail turns of them but that kinda seemed like all you could do, so why not just get a race stock slalom ski that doesn't make you look like a kook?
 
14154846:.nasty said:
dictator 3.0, sakana, pescado, mindbender 116c, declivity series.
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I mean, I would love to ski all those but I'm going to be using these 90% on groomers so I'm looking for something much narrower.
 
14154862:skiP.E.I. said:
I mean, I would love to ski all those but I'm going to be using these 90% on groomers so I'm looking for something much narrower.
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I will admit, I read the title and just posted my favorites haha.

Go with the dictator 1.0 or mindbender 90TI!
 
14155023:jps2.0 said:
how do the dictator skis ski
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Dictators are super fun skis, I’ve been on the 3.0 and 4.0 and they’re a balls to the wall no speed limit type of ski. 1.0 and 2.0 are geared more towards resort skiing with the 2.0 being a little more versatile due to its width.
 
i tried out the mantra m5 in 191 last year at sun valley in shit conditions, was the highlight of my trip. super high speed limit, ripped on groomers and was the most composed of the multiple skis i tried on the iced out ungroomed runs.

If you want to go used, i have a pair of head monster 88s i absolutely love. Amazing bad conditions groomer ski with no speed limit and they still handle ungroomed shit conditions too. they were very cheap used too, the build quality is great on them with tons of metal.

What i liked about both the above is that they were heavy with metal, do great with railing both medium and long turns and are easy/intuitive to kick the tails out to scrub speed or if you are stuck on a crowded groomer.
 
14155023:jps2.0 said:
how do the dictator skis ski
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The thing I like most about them is how nimble and playful they can ski, and then you realize you did all that at Mach 1
 
But can the dictators keep up to the mantra 102? and now katana 108? lots of reviews places the dictators beneath the 102 mantra. I wanna try the dictators, I love faction, but yeah demos... fat chance here.

Ohh and you like the M5 191... get on the mantra 102 191cm...
 
14155163:.nasty said:
The thing I like most about them is how nimble and playful they can ski, and then you realize you did all that at Mach 1
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do the dictators snap in half like the candide skis from a few years ago
 
14155226:jps2.0 said:
do the dictators snap in half like the candide skis from a few years ago
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I can’t say they didn’t also have some durability issues but hey, at least their warranty is always super smooth
 
14155257:.nasty said:
I can’t say they didn’t also have some durability issues but hey, at least their warranty is always super smooth
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Dictators haven’t had the same issues for the most part, the Candide series is also completely revamped for this coming season and they are gonna be bulletproof, and they ski even better than the current line imo. And yeah, warranty is fire, plus they can’t say it was rail damage with a Dictator!
 
14155166:anders_a said:
Ohh and you like the M5 191... get on the mantra 102 191cm...
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I know id love them even more, id probably end up looking to buy a pair after trying.

The only problem is i have the first year moment commander 108s which i cant say enough good things about, the only problem with them is i end up skiing way faster than i intend to since they are so good at speed. 99% of the time is fine but the 1% leads to some spectacular crashes

**This post was edited on Jul 7th 2020 at 12:59:05pm
 
14155466:Poikenz said:
Do Salomon bbrs still hold up or is that shit old news now?
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Did they ever hold up?

There's a reason that ski went away so fast. Less old news, and more "they sucked even when they were the new new" IMO haha.
 
If you're able to next winter I would demo for sure. Whereas demoing a lot of freestyle skis can be challenging depending on where you live, I feel like most shops have a solid selection of groomer rippers no matter where you are from
 
14155522:highpeak said:
If you're able to next winter I would demo for sure. Whereas demoing a lot of freestyle skis can be challenging depending on where you live, I feel like most shops have a solid selection of groomer rippers no matter where you are from
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Shops on PEI don't do demos as far as I know. There's one demo day a year and I'm usually working.
 
14155494:cydwhit said:
Did they ever hold up?

There's a reason that ski went away so fast. Less old news, and more "they sucked even when they were the new new" IMO haha.
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They aren't bad as a pure carving ski especially in sub par conditions. I think they were a little early to the scene as older people were dead set on mock sl or gs skis with crappy generic graphics and system bindings. Everyone who wasn't one of those people saw them as a one ski quiver that didn't excel in any particular terrain or condition so having a real quiver would be a better option for them, plus a bunch of people didn't take them seriously purely based on looks. I feel that Salomon dropped the ball a bit when it came to marketing them.

With all that said I saw some guy toss a cork 7 on a pair this year if that holds any value.
 
14155567:skiP.E.I. said:
Shops on PEI don't do demos as far as I know. There's one demo day a year and I'm usually working.
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Damn that's tough. But yeah if you think you'd really wanna rail them a nice pair of slalom race skis will do the trick (pretty easy to find used in good shape). If you wanna carve but also have some all mountain capability I don't really have any experience but I've heard great things about Blizzard. Would 100% check out blister reviews buyer guide for the category you're looking for. Blister is pretty much the only review site I trust besides trends on newshoolers/tgr
 
The Blade! This ski is the metal laminate carver for people who want to lay trenches and have fun. 95 underfoot, super quick and awesome grip. Its hard to beat!
 
14156646:SofaKingSick said:
the Mantra would almost certainly be my daily driver if they had a twin tip or i didn't do The Switch anymore
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word, I have mine +1 mounted, so can kinda ski switch poorly on it (mantra 102), tips are not flat at least ;)

try the fischer ranger 102 FR, most chargy twintip I found so far.
 
14156673:anders_a said:
word, I have mine +1 mounted, so can kinda ski switch poorly on it (mantra 102), tips are not flat at least ;)

try the fischer ranger 102 FR, most chargy twintip I found so far.
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yeah man, ive def checked out the 102 FRs and hear excellent things

regarding the mantra and its mount point, yeah i think that's my only other complaint about volkl skis like the mantra, their mount point is so far back. i like ballsy skis that really wanna bang but i don't like the super far back traditional mounts
 
They did mark +1 and +2 on the mantra 102, so I will give them some credit, and the mantra 102 is the only normal ski( not counting fis GS) ski I haven't been able to fold the shovels on yet with my 215-225lbs++, allthough I think , so I will give them that.

I rock the 102 FR in 184 +2cm and 191 +3cm mounts. Just finished up some trips on summerski with them, in the rain, in fog, on what was fresh powder the day before we arrived and weather changed...... to quote a friend "sugeføre" :D Glide conditions was variable and it was my first nose butter whole leaning back.
 
14156677:anders_a said:
They did mark +1 and +2 on the mantra 102, so I will give them some credit, and the mantra 102 is the only normal ski( not counting fis GS) ski I haven't been able to fold the shovels on yet with my 215-225lbs++, allthough I think , so I will give them that.

I rock the 102 FR in 184 +2cm and 191 +3cm mounts. Just finished up some trips on summerski with them, in the rain, in fog, on what was fresh powder the day before we arrived and weather changed...... to quote a friend "sugeføre" :D Glide conditions was variable and it was my first nose butter whole leaning back.
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Fuck yeah dude, I might get a pair soon for appropriate days

and I need to demo the FRs, unfortunately never had a chance to try them
 
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